Dear List:

In regards to the truth about  the Live shelling ban on Sanibel:

Years ago the late great Tucker Abbott  was actually uncertain about the
total shelling ban on Sanibel Island. Two  species per day per person could have
been kept in force and was legitimate. We  still see people carry off live
shells from the beaches contrary to the law and  many of these people are
residents of the island. Personally, it isn't worth  getting caught and getting into
trouble. But there are many locals you can still  buy local specimen shells
from, that have the same great color surprisingly  enough that they had when they
were collected before the ban!  Interesting!!!  But when it came to the final
hearing on the subject nobody  who collected shells stepped up to the plate
to stop the total ban! Many people  can talk but they do not do anything about
the problems they talk about. Action  speaks louder than words, so the state
banned collection of live mollusks on  Sanibel, because everybody could talk
but nobody showed up to fight for what was  right! The collectors were not the
main blame for the shelling on Sanibel.  Progress, overpopulation due to
growth, pollution, fresh water intrusion and  several beach re-nourishments locally
due to declining seashores has been more  of a problem.

Yes, the numbers of people can significantly impact an  ecosystem with
pollution and other factors. But the casual weekender does not  know about shell
trails in the sand or how to find certain species during low  tide. Also Most
people who aren't collectors do not know what to do with a live  shell when they
find it, so they leave it. How many serious collectors actually  exist that
know how to fill their buckets up? Can't be too many or all shell  dealers would
be millionaires from these zealous collectors!Especially, with so  much
interest if it existed in collecting specimen shells! Guido Poppe   recently noted
in an article that the number of collectors has declined  significantly over
the years.So again why is over-collection blamed?

It  was suggested by Tucker that it would take a lot more than casual
collecting of  shells on Sanibel even by the bucket load to deplete the local
Molluscan  population in the area. Then again, nobody blamed the pollution and fresh
water  overflow from the Caloosahatchee River. Recently, Turners beach and
Blind pass  on Sanibel had problems with sewage overflow and feces washing into
the waters  in that area and beaches were shut down. Many fish died so some
impact had to be  felt by other marine creatures. Red tide has also been very
hard on the area in  past years as well as hurricanes and bad weather shifting
molluscan populations  around.  There is also condo building whether restricted
or not that played  its part over the years.

The gory truth about the Sanibel shelling ban  is that it was actually
created by a few "Old Guard" of the island who really  didn't want people intruding
on their island, namely the tourists. I have been a  resident of Sanibel and
can speak from experience that the shelling ban I  believe was a way of keeping
away tourists from Sanibel and the shells that the  locals loved to collect.
I could talk for ions concerning reasons why it isn't  collectors that hurt
the shelling on Sanibel, but I hope I got my point across  from an experienced
collector who lived there many years. Now Sanibel businesses  are hurting and
many places may continue to shut down. Hopefully, everything  Sanibel and the
state has banned in the past has not come back to hurt the  island
economically. Live shelling and the collection of live specimens was  certainly a draw for
many worldwide collectors to come and spend money on the  island. But of
course the locals weren't interested in the tourism. What about  now? Most people
who do not live on the island do not do enough damage in  collecting in such a
short time they are on vacation, because by the time they  learn the great
places to go, the vacation is normally over. The shell  collectors who live on
the island shell almost everyday during the lowest tides  and especially at
night lows!!!

Let's stop blaming the over-collection  and look at the environmental
reasons. After Hurricane Charley all the live  shells were buried on the beach with
tractors before the collectors or residents  could get back on the island after
the hurricane!The shells were not placed back  in the water, because they
were storm tossed and were going to die anyway! What  happens during the winter
and summer storms when live shells wash up on the  beach? Do these shells
survive? But if a collector picks one up, they will be  fined and even jailed! It
doesn't make good sense! Storm tossed shells normally  die or are dying! Throw
them back in the water like you see some people do and  they will get shocked
even more. Most people do not gently walk the live shell  back in the water,
they throw it!

Collectors could never collect what a  shrimper or fishermen kills in one day
of trawling! in their nets!! But again  the poor casual collector is blamed
for over-collecting. Not the environmental  condition, pollution, etc. Frankly,
politicians would like you to believe that  the pollution etc is being well
controlled, so they blame the casual collectors  for the decline of local
species to due over-collecting. They do not want to  take the blame for the lack of
control they have over the environment, as many  lobbyists etc are involved
with large companies or special interest groups that  hide facts about the
environment.Look at global warming and look no  further, politicians are more
worried about other things than the  environment. But they will always have the
casual shell collector to pick on for  over-collecting. I hope many collectors
stop letting these politicians feel they  are right, because one day collecting
shells will be restricted everywhere and  the hobby will be no more for
future generations! I believe in conserving, but  let's put blame where blame
should be placed!

I hope my point about  over-collecting is better understood!

Fredric Briskin

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